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Comment by footlose_3815 | Hacker News Reader

Google, Microsoft are leading the way in enshittification.

Google is packed with advertisements now, their browser is now a direct feed to advertisers. Windows 11 is an online-always garbage OS that bombard you with unwanted promoted noise you can’t remove. LinkedIn is inundated with ads now.

Something has got to give. We are going to make new solutions that don’t have all this bullshit.

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Completely false, about Windows. There are (debunked) rumors that the next version of Windows will be online only, but it isn't now. And I don't see a trace of promotion in Windows 11. I forget how I disabled that 2 years ago when I installed it, but it wasn't difficult.

Ubuntu, on the other hand, tries to sell me on Ubuntu Pro and Expanded Security Maintenance for Applications every time I log in. But I haven't looked into how to disable it so I won't make a false claim that it's something "you can't remove."

Weird, I've been using Ubuntu for quite a few years now, both in my work laptop and personal desktop, and have never even heard the terms "Ubuntu Pro" or "Expanded Security Maintenance for Applications."

I checked recently, and Windows 11, you cannot even use it without a internet and a Microsoft account. You used to be able to use a local account. And then after that enshittified, they made it so you used to be able to disconnect from the network and use a local account. And now, there's a terminal workaround that must be used now.

I will throw shade at Ubuntu, as well. There's a ton of privacy and UX switches you need to flip just to make it your OS. And even then, it's got snap, so who needs it?

Thankfully, we're seeing a surge of alternate options. Mastodon's user base continues to grow and add user focused features [1], Firefox performance is on-par with Chrome, Bing/duckduckgo reached Google's search quality a while back and now exceed it since Google search added shit.

1. https://blog.joinmastodon.org/2023/09/mastodon-4.2/

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